Pakistan-based Militants Launch Unusual Attack On Indian Airbase

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On January 2, Pakistan-based militants launched one of their most high-profile and significant attacks on India in recent years. Militants attacked Pathankot Air Force Station, located in northeast India, 20 miles from the border with Pakistan (New India Express, January 6). The attack involved six heavily armed gunmen who successfully infiltrated the highly-defended base in the early hours of the morning, disguised in Indian military uniforms. Patrolling guards intercepted them in a forested area within the base, sparking a shootout that killed four militants. The two remaining militants were unaccounted for within the base for almost 50 hours before being killed as a result of an intensive military operation involving attack helicopters. In total, seven members of the security forces were killed. Although the attackers apparently attempted to target Indian military helicopters and jets at the base, none were successfully attacked or damaged (India Today, January 4). However, Indian media has been critical of the time needed by the military to neutralize attackers in a relatively confined area of an airbase (The Hindu, January 4).

The United Jihad Council (UJC), a Kashmir-focused umbrella organization for a number of militant groups claimed credit for the attack, which it attributed to its so-called 'Highway Squad' (The Hindu, January 4). The UJC includes organizations such as the hardline Islamist Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Local Indian media quoted security sources as saying that the UJC claim may have been intended to 'indigenise' the attack in the hopes of distancing attackers from Pakistan and diverting attention from any Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed involvement (NDTV, January 4). The ultimate directors and planners of the attack remain unknown. The UJC and many of its consistent member groups are known to have close links to the Pakistan security services, particularly its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. It is therefore plausible that planning for the attack involved members of the Pakistan security establishment opposed to the recent rapprochement between Pakistan's civilian government and India.

The Indian response to the incident was characterized by a series of missteps. In the first instance, a day before the attack, the gunmen hijacked a car driven by a plainclothes police superintendent. The police viewed the incident as criminally motivated, despite the police superintendent alleging that the attackers had been heavily armed and had made calls to Pakistan in Urdu (Zee News, January 5). Then, the policeman's cook - who was also abducted in the incident - was reportedly beaten by policemen who refused to believe his story (The Hindu, January 4).

The attack on Pathankot airbase shows that Pakistan-based jihadists remain capable of carrying out plots in India. The attack also raises questions over the ability of the Indian military to protect even high profile military targets, both preventing such attacks from being successfully executed and acting decisively once such attacks are underway.